electoral votes, sweeping the critical battleground states of ohio, iowa, wisconsin, pennsylvania, nevada, and colorado. obama's tally is expected to rise after in florida, were he currently leads romney by over 46,000 votes. in a victory speech from chicago, obama said he returns to the white house with renewed purpose. >> i return to the white house moh determined and more inspired than ever about the future that lies ahead. you elected us to focus on your jobs, not ours. in the coming weeks and months, out and working with leaders of both parties to meet the challenges we can only solve together. reducing our deficit, reforming our tax codes, fixing our immigration system, freeing ourselves from foreign oil. we have more work to do. >> mitt romney won the traditional republican states, but ended up with only one swing state victory, taking north carolina. after reports that his campaign was questioning the results in ohio, romney finally emerged shortly before 1:00 a.m. eastern standard time to announce he had conceded the race. >> i have just called president obama to congratulate him